We decided to try Stick Talk in Midtown after seeing that the restaurant had gotten Keith Lee approved just a few weeks prior. The concept of the restaurant sounded delicious— a cajun hibachi fusion, how could you go wrong with that? Naturally, we went in excited and curious, thinking we were about to discover another Midtown/ Montrose gem. But after eating there ourselves… our experience ended up being a lot more mixed.
The food
To be fair, there was one thing that absolutely lived up to the hype: the crawfish eggrolls. These were genuinely fantastic — crispy, flavorful, and easily the most memorable part of the entire meal. If the whole menu hit that level, I’d be writing a completely different review.
Everything else, though, was pretty average. Not awful, not amazing — just standard American Chinese food that tasted like what you’d expect from any everyday takeout place. That wouldn’t be an issue normally, except the prices were extremely inflated for what you get. The portions were small, the flavors were fine but not special, and nothing felt like it justified the cost.
We kept waiting for that “wow” moment, but aside from the crawfish eggrolls, it never came.
The Service
Even when the line is long, the staff at Truth are friendly and fast. They’ve got the rhythm of barbecue service down to a science — quick, efficient, but still personal. You can tell they take pride in what they do, which honestly adds to the experience.
The Ambiance
Service was slow, which was surprising given how small the restaurant is. Nothing rude or negative happened, but the wait times definitely dragged out the experience more than expected. Also the server accidentally gave us someone else’s order of eggrolls and they had ordered before us so… that was kinda awkward.
Parking & Location
The parking situation was rough. The lot is small and fills up almost instantly, and the surrounding street parking is just okay at best. Midtown isn’t the easiest place to park to begin with, and Stick Talk’s setup doesn’t make it any easier.
Final Thoughts
Would we come back to dine in? Honestly… no. The overall experience didn’t match the prices or the expectations we had going in.
However, I’ll gladly give credit where it’s due: the crawfish eggrolls were genuinely delicious. We would maybe return just to order those as takeout — but dining in again isn’t something we plan on doing.
⭐ Synopsis
| Category | Rating (out of 5 stars) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Food | ⭐⭐½ | Crawfish eggrolls were amazing, but everything else tasted average and overpriced. |
| Service | ⭐⭐ | Slow despite the restaurant being small. |
| Ambiance | ⭐⭐½ | Cramped space, casual but doesn’t match the high prices. |
| Parking | ⭐⭐ | Very limited lot, street parking not great either. |
| Location | ⭐⭐⭐ | Midtown is convenient, but parking makes it a hassle. |
Overall Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars
Not a terrible place, but not one we plan on returning to — except maybe for those standout crawfish eggrolls.
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